The awards aim to encourage, acknowledge, and reward the valuable contributions of individuals, community groups, and businesses that are making a difference in their community throughout the state.

Many from the state’s North have been recognised as finalists.

For a list of all Tasmanian finalists, visit the Awards Australia website.

The awards will be presented at a gala presentation dinner on November 23.

Karinya's Young Mums and Bubs program provides an early intervention service for young people who are either pregrant or a parent, who are at risk of homelessness.

The program commenced in 2012 as a pilot, relying on philanthropic aid.

It has been recognised for its value to the Tasmanian community in 2018 by securing funding from the state government. 

Just Cats founder Rachel Beech saw the need to provide a shelter home for these unwanted cats and kittens until they could be adopted to a loving family. 

The not-for-profit shelter and boarding facility helps to address the stray and abandoned cat issues in the state’s North.

Nate Cripps has been deaf since birth. 

In February, Mr Cripps and his partner Warren Flannigan opened Tweetie L'amour Pet Emporium at Invermay.

Since opening he has trained people with disabilities five days a week in retail and animal husbandry to help increase confidence when interacting with customers and help them get employment in the wider community

Launceston Church Grammar School teacher Patrick Coleman endeavours to provide an innovative curriculum and learning experiences for his students.

Contributing to the wider educational community is something he considers important, this is evident in his involvement with ACHPER Tasmania and his various presentations at national and international conferences.

Dr Catherine Hughes is career development practitioner who specializes in careers work in schools. 

She created the Grow Careers website for all Australian school communities, initiated the Rotary Employment Day, and wrote a series of Careers Work in schools booklets to support the work of school career development facilitators.

Dr Hughes has also delivered professional development workshops for teachers and career development practitioners, contributed to national and state career education courses, supported other countries in developing career guidance systems, and mentored career development practitioners. 

Kelvin Jones has been involved with the emergency service in Swansea more than over 20 years, in both the Fire Brigade and the SES .

Mr Jones has 20 years of involvement with the local East Coast Crusaders PCYC, and is also involved with other community groups such as Swansea Community Christmas Parade, Swansea District Show, is a board member of the Tasmanian Association of PCYC , Great Oyster Bay festival, and the From France to Freycinet Festival.

For 28 years, Community Care Tasmania has provided aged and home care services to help Tasmanians to live at home for as long as possible.

In the past twelve months, CCT’s team of dedicated workers have helped more than a 1000 people around the state to achieve this objective. 

Rural Youth Tasmania is committed to its vision to connect, develop and celebrate young Tasmanians. 

They are proud of our rural and community connections and are always looking for opportunities to build on them.

It strives to present a positive image and engage as many young people in the sector as possible through its Rural Youth membership, as well as programs and activities such as Discover Agriculture, Young Farmer of the Year, Junior Livestock Handling and the Agfest Field Days.

Lindsay Bourke has taken a small honey business and has grown it into the largest in Tasmania.

He advocates for biosecurity of Tasmania and Australia and was awarded the Biosecurity Farmer of the Year in 2015. He is also is the current winner of the World’s Best Honey Mead (APIMONDIA) and Best Food in Australia (Australian Food Awards)

Combating the critical shortage of beekeepers, Lindsay has implemented a trainee program providing qualified beekeepers for his company and the industry to ensure pollination of crops into the future.

The Ringarooma River Catchment community, with the Ringarooma Water User Group, has co-designed and adopted world leading digital technologies to create a highly sophisticated community water-sharing model that has enduring benefits to agriculture and the broader community.

Its proactive social learning activities that address complex socio-ecological problems are grounded in trusted relationships that have evolved over generations, and their success means they are likely to continue into the future.

S. Group was founded in 2011, and is a multi-disciplinary studio integrating architecture, creative design, and marketing.

The business is actively involved with and supports numerous community projects both in Tasmania such as the Junction Arts Festival and Launceston City Mission, and around the world.

Tasmanian Alkaloids is a fully integrated manufacturer of controlled substances providing alkaloid raw materials from poppies grown in Tasmania. 

The business is committed to operating sustainably and protecting the environment and natural resources. 

Whilst Tasmania has some of the best food in Australia, there are many people in Tasmania struggling to get access to good healthy food because of where they live or where they have come from. 

Denise Delphin and the Northern Suburbs Community, Nettie Burr and the Starting Point Neighbourhood House and Ravenswood Community, Jo Dean and the Women’s Friendship Group, and Sandy Murray are committed to improving food access for the community.

After 32 years operating in the North, New Horizons Tasmania now offers statewide sport and recreation programs for Tasmanians living with a disability.

Currently the NHC runs 18 programs a week, 48 weeks a year, alongside school holiday programs, carnivals, social functions and interstate sporting trips.

NHC welcome members with any disability from ages five years and up, as well as their families.